Vega – ICD's new in-home 15.6" Android 2.0 Eclair tablet

ICD Unveils Sleek, Kitchen-Friendly Android 2.0 Eclair Touch Device

On the 11^th of November, Innovative Converged Devices (ICD), a Seattle-based design and engineering company unveiled 'Vega', the 'first in a future line of Android products'. Their press release states that their devices 'are scheduled for distribution through Tier 1 carriers across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East in the first half of 2010.'

ICD will demonstrate the Vega at the International CES Show, between the 7^th and 10^th of January, 2010, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center/Las Vegas Hilton.

The president and CEO of ICD, David Hayes, states that the Vega's design was inspired by 'a deep understanding of what customers want', which allowed them to produce a 'fully realized, no-compromise' tablet PC. Their previous product was the Memento, a wireless digital picture frame launched with Windows Vista, so the Vega is in the hands of people who are somewhat familiar with such devices. Although the Vega is a more versatile product than the Memento, and its main input method will be via its resistive touchscreen.

ICD, which also has an office in Sussex, says that the product will be 'low cost', although any guess at the actual price will do at this stage. They are marketing it as an 'in-home device' which they've also dubbed as 'kitchen-friendly'. At first glance the Vega looks elegant and streamlined, and one could imagine that it's easy to wipe clean – if that's what they mean by the term 'kitchen-friendly'. Marketing a device for use in the kitchen is an emerging trend – recently the litl was also being advertised with the ability to display recipes for use during cooking. 

The minimalist design may mean that ICD will be seeking a high price in exchange for their new Vega. I would imagine that the Vega would be between the price of a netbook and a budget laptop – but I'm not brave enough to put a figure on it, as it may well be subsidised. What can customers expect from the product? Here is a list of the specifications, taken from ICD's product specification (revised 9^th of November):-

Operating System: Android 2.0 Eclair

Target Weight: < 1300g

Dimensions: 373mm x 254mm x 16mm

Power & Battery: 5.3 AH 11.1v Lithium Ion (1 Cell Custom Pack), 11AH 3.9V Lithium Ion (1 Cell Custom Pack), Approx. 4hrs life fully charged / 2hrs to charge, 110-240V line input, 12V DC output 35W (Dock).

Display: 15.6” Resistive Touchscreen, 1366 x 768, 262,000 colors (6 bit)

Processor: NVIDIA Tegra, Combined application/graphics accelerator

Memory: 512 MB DDR DRAM, 512 MB NAND Flash

Camera: Forward facing still/video camera, 1.3 MP

Expansion: Micro SD, Up to 32GB supports FAT and FAT 32

Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 audio - enhanced data transfer, Wireless 802.11 b/g, USB 2.0 High speed, host only, 2G Cellular (option), 3G Cellular (option)

Audio: Standard 3.5mm jack, Internal speakers

Operating Temp: 10º to 35º C

Storage Temp: -24º to 45º C

Their product specification states that in addition to common web tasks, users will be able to play music, video and on demand web-tv. They also claim that gaming will be possible, although I assume they mean simple Flash-based games. Additional features include a charger with magnetic docking, an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and dual digital microphones. The 15.6" Vega will be followed closely by 7" and 11" versions, all of which should be expected in the first half of 2010.